Solaire Resort & Casino parent firm Bloomberry Resorts Corp says it is planning to start development of its third integrated resort, to be located in Cavite south of Manila, some time after the opening of its second IR, Solaire Resort North.
Speaking at an investors’ briefing last week, the company’s director for investor relations, Jonas Isaac Ramos, said, “We still start probably major construction works after we open Solaire North next year, but that does not preclude us from doing surveys, studies, master planning, getting environmental compliance certificate and prime ourselves for major work to be done after Solaire North.”
Bloomberry will fully pay out the Php7.5 billion (US$134 million) to acquire the 280 hectares of property for its Cavite IR as soon as it has received the clean titles, Ramos added, although the company has not yet finalized its capital spending expectations.
He did, however, confirm that Solaire North – located in Quezon City – remains on track to open in 4Q23 after it was topped off in July. When complete it will offer up to 600 hotel rooms, 250 gaming tables and 2,000 to 3,000 slot machines.
“This property is envisioned to be mass focused space [and] will be at par, if not even better than Solaire in Entertainment City,” Ramos said, as reported by the Manila Standard.
Making less progress is a plan to acquire a stake in PH Resorts Group, the gaming and hospitality arm of businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Group, which is developing two casino resorts in Cebu and Clark. PH Resorts Group last year suspended development work on its Clark casino to focus on Emerald Bay in Cebu, however IAG understands work on the Cebu IR has also ground to a halt due to financial concerns.
Providing an update on Bloomberry’s investment after the two companies signed a term sheet in May, Executive Vice President and CFO Estela Tuason-Occena said, “The completion of the planned acquisition is subject to satisfactory completion of our due diligence as well as delivery of a number of conditions. So until then we have not really closed the transaction.”